96 A MANUAL OF FOEESTRY. 



page 72. He must, more especially, see that lie receives 

 plants with a properly developed root-system, that is to 

 say one which is full and compact, but at the same time 

 of a natural shape. It has of late years become the 

 practice to lay down the seedlings, when they are pricked 

 out, into shallow trenches involving the bending over of 

 the root-system to one side ; the result is a bushy root- 

 system altogether lop-sided. If such plants are put out 

 into the forest, they take many years to recover a normal 

 healthy shape of the root-system, and until this takes 

 place they have only a limited hold on the ground, and 

 are liable to be blown over by strong winds. This 

 drawback is often maintained up to middle age, if 

 not longer. 



In selecting plants, care should be taken that they 

 are suited to the locality where they are to be planted. 

 For fertile localities at low elevations, well-grown tall 

 plants are desirable ; for poor soil, especially on high 

 elevations, short sturdy plants are preferable. Gene- 

 rally speaking it is best, if no great differences exist 

 between the soil and climate of the nursery and of the 

 locality where the plants are to be put out. 



2. Plants taken from existing Woods. 



Where operations are conducted on a small scale, and 

 nursery plants are not available, the planting material 

 may be obtained from existing young, woods, such as 

 natural regenerations or sowings. In such cases the 

 plants are taken from the parts which are too thickly 

 stocked, and consequently they are generally in- 

 differently developed ; they are slow in coming on 



